Vacation

          What is a vacation? Hawaii with the husband? Disneyland with the family? A good old fashioned camping trip? Driving to Oregon with 5 kids and no husband? Oh yes! The Oregon choice. That was my 'vacation' this summer.
         Even to myself this idea sounds crazy. The next thought is always, what kind of husband do I have? I am always making these Oregon trips alone. I have a husband who has one of those pesky jobs and he never ever seems to get vacation time in the summer.
          Now that the kids are getting older I can't just pull them out of school for two weeks. In 3rd grade I had Bret out for a week and a half when Dad was sick and, I will admit it to you all, he failed a test because of me. I don't in any way regret the choice to take him out to see his Grandpa. I only regret my complete lack of ability to explain math concepts. I can do the math, but teaching it is another story. Let's just add that to the long list of reasons I love public school!
          The choices are tromp across California and Oregon with 5 kids alone or wait until Bret gets some vacation days and pull the big kids out of school for over a week and let all 3 of them be homeschooled on a road trip with me as their teacher (barf). It had already been a year since I was at Mom's house. I really do enjoy going there. Plus Seaside is actually pretty fun in the summer.
          When the big 3 were little I spent hours packing and planning. I would make goodie bags with toys. I would put together great treat bags. We would have new books and movies and the ever-popular workbooks. I made my list and I checked it twice.
          That enthusiasm is so gone! I did buy Mary some makeup and Cutie a singing book. I did charge a decent number of devices. I got myself an audio book. I bought snacks and dumped them into a big tub to avoid pit stops.
         The old me would have had guilt about some of these choices. Shouldn't I be making cherished childhood memories here? They should have their special bags and we should be singing and playing car games. No way, no how!
          The first day we drove to Redding. That is about 5 hours away from our house. I reserved a hotel room and promised the kids swimming. Taking them all swimming didn't seem like the best idea. I went down really having no idea how I was going to watch them all. Wild child Mary had a life jacket on as I assumed she was most likely to hurl herself in without warning. It actually turned out just fine. The big three have basic swimming and belly flopping skills so they were having a great time. Mary hated the cold water and would only stick her feet in the hot tub and Cutie wanted nothing to do with the water. She chased a ball around a small grass square in the corner most of the time. Best of all when it was time to leave they all listened! On more than one occasion aqua man Jackson has suddenly been unable to hear my repeated calls to get out of the pool. There is just so much water in his ears. Not that lucky day though. He got out and even helped usher the littles out of the pool area.
         The evening went well. I pushed one stroller and Jackson pushed the other. Bret and Chloe held open all the doors and helped drag luggage. We received a lot of questioning looks. People can't figure out who we are. These kids cannot possibly all be mine, they seem to say. Most of the time I simply smile and keep walking. Let them wonder!
         The next day we made it to Mom's. Grandma's is always a fun place for the kids. She has an old dog Ginger the kids love to chase around. The main thing is that Grandma is there and she bought good sugar cereals for the week. The kids are set!
         It was lovely to have Mary wander into Mom's room during those early wake-up hours. As impossible as is sounds, I did get a bit of a break. I fit in a run, I ate at Norma's, and for one week I wasn't responsible for running a household.
         The kids all did as well as they possibly could have. Bret spent a lot of time playing with his cousin Kemper. In fact, when we got home, I had to make a point of hanging out with him. I hardly saw him during our time away. Chloe cuddled with her Grandma most nights and had a slumber party with her Nana and the dogs at the Shilo one night. Jackson went to work with Grandma two evenings and well he did play on his iPod a lot. Mary tortured Ginger and snuggled with her Aunt Heidi. Cutie had the best behavior she has ever had there. She was in a new place, with new people, and sleeping in a strange room. She napped well and seemed to enjoy all the family and kids rotating through the house.
          It took us such an unreasonable amount of time to pack up from the hotel I decided not to stop on the way home. It is more work to stop than to keep driving. The way there was about fun, but the way home was just about getting home. We stopped for gas twice, but the kids only got out at the first gas stop. They were troopers and we made the trip in less than 14 hours.
         The time went too quickly and as always I was sad to leave my mom. I am kind of a baby! It probably wasn't a totally relaxing vacation but it was an adventure. Upon returning home, I didn't even vow to never do it again although I do plan on waiting a while. It could be a while before the car airs completely out!